The Ikeda school massacre (sometimes referred to as the Osaka school massacre) was a school stabbing and

mass murder Mass murder is the violent crime of murder, killing a number of people, typically simultaneously or over a relatively short period of time and in close geographic proximity. A mass murder typically occurs in a single location where one or more ...

that occurred in Ikeda,

Osaka Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Osaka Prefecture has a population of 8,778,035 () and has a geographic area of . Osaka Prefecture borders Hyōgo Prefecture to the northwest, Kyoto Prefecture to the north, Nara ...

, Japan, on 8 June 2001.

Mamoru Takuma was a Japanese mass murderer who killed eight children in the Ikeda school massacre in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture, on 8 June 2001. Takuma had a long history of mentally disturbed and anti-social behaviour, and an extensive criminal record includ ...

, a 37-year-old ex-convict with a history of

mentally disturbed A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness, a mental health condition, or a psychiatric disability, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is ...

and anti-social behavior, stabbed eight students to death and seriously wounded fifteen others in a knife attack that lasted several minutes. Takuma was

sentenced to death Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...

in August 2003, and executed in September 2004. As of 2025, it is currently the deadliest school attack in Japanese history.

Perpetrator

was a 37-year-old ex-convict from

Itami is a cities of Japan, city located in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 197,215 in 83,580 households and a population density of . The total area of the city is . Geography Itami is located in south-east ...

Hyōgo Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Hyōgo Prefecture has a population of 5,469,762 () and a geographic area of . Hyōgo Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the east, Osaka Prefecture to th ...

, who had a long history of

and anti-social behavior since childhood and an extensive

criminal record A criminal record (not to be confused with a police record or arrest record) is a record of a person's criminal Conviction, convictions history. The information included in a criminal record, and the existence of a criminal record, varies betwe ...

that included a conviction for

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...

. As a teenager, Takuma's volatile behavior led to him being kicked out of school and his father eventually

disowning Disownment occurs when a parent, sibling or a relative renounces or no longer accepts a child or a relative as a family member. Disownment might be due to actions perceived as reprehensible or lead to severe emotional consequences. Different from ...

him. After being released from prison in 1989, Takuma moved to the nearby city of Ikeda,

, working various part-time jobs in the area but often being fired for erratic or violent behavior. In 1999, he was detained at a

psychiatric hospital A psychiatric hospital, also known as a mental health hospital, a behavioral health hospital, or an asylum is a specialized medical facility that focuses on the treatment of severe Mental disorder, mental disorders. These institutions cater t ...

while working as a

janitor A cleaner, cleanser or cleaning operative is a type of Industry (economics), industrial or domestic worker who is tasked with cleaning a space. A janitor (Scotland, United States and Canada), also known as a custodian, Facility Operator, porter ...

at Itami City Ikejiri Elementary, after slipping his

temazepam Temazepam, sold under the brand name Restoril among others, is a medication of the benzodiazepine class which is generally used to treat severe or debilitating insomnia. It is taken by mouth. Temazepam is rapidly absorbed, and significant hypn ...

into tea he served in a teachers' room at the school, resulting in staff being hospitalized. Takuma attempted

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

at the psychiatric hospital but was soon determined as fit to be released. In October 2000, Takuma was charged with assaulting a

bellhop A bellhop (North America), or hotel porter (international), is a hotel employee who helps patrons with their luggage while checking in or out. Bellhops often wear a uniform, like certain other page boys or doormen. This occupation is also know ...

while working as a taxi driver in

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

. He was to attend a court hearing scheduled for 8 June 2001, the day on which the massacre occurred.

Attack

On 8 June 2001, the day of his court hearing for the bellhop assault case, Takuma drove to the Ikeda Elementary School, an elite school affiliated with the

Osaka Kyoiku University is a national university with headquarters in the city of Kashiwara, Osaka Prefecture, Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on th ...

. Earlier that morning, he tried unsuccessfully to start a fire in his apartment by using a lit cigarette to get revenge on his tenant, whom he had long disliked. Takuma then visited a knife shop at around 10:00 a.m., where he purchased a 15.8-centimetre (6.2-inch) long Deba knife, a type of kitchen knife used to cut fish, for ¥7,480. There was also a second knife in his car, which he planned to use to murder his ex-wife. Takuma parked his car in front of the school's east gate, before making his way to the south building, which housed multiple first- and second-year classrooms.Asahi Shimbun, June 9, 2001, Tokyo Social Section, p. 39, "'That cheerful child...' 8 people stabbed to death at Osaka elementary school. He was not good at practicing the horizontal bar, but he was good at making people laugh. He sheds tears thinking of the children who were killed." The attack began just after 10:10 a.m.; Takuma first climbed through a window before crossing the hallway and entering a second-year classroom, where he stabbed five students to death. He then entered two more second-year classrooms and indiscriminately attacked those inside, killing two more students in one of the rooms. All of the students killed in these classrooms were girls, and a first-year teacher was also stabbed in the back. Two other teachers began to chase Takuma, who briefly made a gesture as if he was going to chase after students who had fled from the first classroom he attacked, but then ran into a first-year classroom where he stabbed a young boy to death. He then attacked other students from the same classroom who were returning from a music class. The massacre finally ended at around 10:20 a.m., after the vice principal and one of the teachers were able to subdue the attacker, though the teacher was slashed in the face while trying to hold back the knife. Takuma said nothing throughout the entire attack, though at the end of his rampage he began ranting incoherent statements but eventually calmed down. Takuma was taken into custody by law enforcement, but he was first treated at a hospital for minor injuries to his left hand.

Fatalities

All of the victims were female second-graders, except for one first-grade boy. *Yuki Hongo (本郷優希 ''Hongō Yūki'') *Mayuko Isaka (猪阪真宥子 ''Isaka Mayuko'') *Yuuka Kiso (木曽友香 ''Kiso Yūka'') *Ayano Moriwaki (森脇綾乃 ''Moriwaki Ayano'') *Maki Sakai (酒井麻希 ''Sakai Maki'') *Takahiro Totsuka (戸塚健大 ''Totsuka Takahiro'') (the only boy to die in the attack)Japan mourns school victims
"

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

. June 10, 2001. Retrieved on February 5, 2010. *Hana Tsukamoto (塚本花菜 ''Tsukamoto Hana'') *Rena Yamashita (山下玲奈 ''Yamashita Rena'')

Aftermath

Takuma was diagnosed with

paranoid personality disorder Paranoid personality disorder (PPD) is a mental disorder characterized by paranoia, and a pervasive, long-standing suspiciousness and generalized mistrust of others. People with this personality disorder may be hypersensitive, easily insulted, ...

. He was later convicted and

hanging Hanging is killing a person by suspending them from the neck with a noose or ligature strangulation, ligature. Hanging has been a standard method of capital punishment since the Middle Ages, and has been the primary execution method in numerou ...

. He was executed on September 14, 2004. The attack is currently the sixth deadliest

, along with the

Matsumoto incident The Matsumoto sarin attack was an attempted assassination perpetrated by members of the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult in Matsumoto, Nagano, Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, Japan on the night of June 27, 1994. Eight people were killedTokyo subway sarin attack The was a Chemical terrorism, chemical domestic terrorism, domestic terrorist attack perpetrated on 20 March 1995, in Tokyo, Japan, by members of the Aum Shinrikyo cult. In five coordinated attacks, the perpetrators released sarin on three line ...

, the Osaka movie theater fire, the Sagamihara stabbings, the Kyoto Animation arson attack, and the Myojo 56 building fire. At the time, it was tied with the Matsumoto sarin attack as the second deadliest, behind the Tokyo subway sarin attack. The incident set itself apart, however, by the age of the victims, its venue (a school), and the perpetrator's history of

mental illness A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness, a mental health condition, or a psychiatric disability, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is ...

. Because of these factors, the attack raised questions about Japan's social policies for dealing with mental illness, the rights of victims and criminals, and the accessibility and security of Japanese schools. After the attack, Yoshio Yamane, the principal administrator of the school, announced that it would bring in a security guard, an at-the-time unheard-of practice at Japanese schools.

J-pop J-pop (often stylized in all caps; an abbreviated form of "Japanese popular music"), natively known simply as , is the name for a form of popular music that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1990s. Modern J-pop has its roots in trad ...

artist

Hikaru Utada , also known mononymously as Utada, is a Japanese and American singer, songwriter, and producer. She is considered to be one of the most influential and best-selling musical artists in Japan. She is best known by international audiences for w ...

rearranged her song "Distance" in honor of Rena Yamashita, one of the murdered schoolgirls, because of an essay contest the girl had won, talking about how she respected and wanted to be like Utada, renaming it "

Final Distance "Final Distance" is a song by Japanese recording artist Hikaru Utada for her third studio album '' Deep River'' (2002). Written by Utada herself, the song was produced and composed by long-time collaborators Akira Miyake, Utada's father Teruzane U ...

". Some children, faculty, and parents developed

post-traumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder that develops from experiencing a Psychological trauma, traumatic event, such as sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, warfare and its associated traumas, natural disaster ...

(PTSD).

References

External links